So here are the top 25 Bollywood songs of the year. As I said in the roundup before, it was quite tough to bring it down to 25, lot of favs having to be cut out and all that. In any case, below is the end product. In the format: Song Title (Movie) – Composer(s)|Singer(s)|Lyricist(s). Click on the title to watch the song.

1 Kun Faya Kun (Rockstar) – A R Rahman|Javed Ali, A R Rahman, Mohit Chauhan|Irshad Kamil

2 Rangrez (Tanu Weds Manu) – Krsna|Wadali Brothers|Rajshekhar

3 Jo Bhi Main (Rockstar) – A R Rahman|Mohit Chauhan|Irshad Kamil

4 Saibo (Shor In The City) – Sachin Jigar|Shreya Ghoshal, Tochi Raina|Sameer, Priya Panchal

5 Aitbaar (No One Killed Jessica) – Amit Trivedi|Mame Khan, Vishal Dadlani|Amitabh Bhattacharya

6 Tere Liye (7 Khoon Maaf) – Vishal Bhardwaj|Suresh Wadkar|Gulzar

7 Kaun Si Dor (Aarakshan) – Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Prasoon Joshi|Pt. Channulal Mishra, Shreya Ghoshal|Prasoon Joshi

8 Bhare Naina (RA.One) – Vishal Shekhar|Nandini Srikar, Vishal, Shekhar|Panchhi Jalonvi

9 Piya (Tanu Weds Manu) – Krsna|Roop Kumar Rathod|Rajshekhar

10 Dilli (No One Killed Jessica) – Amit Trivedi|Aditi Singh Sharma, Shriram Iyer, Tochi Raina|Amitabh Bhattacharya

11 Tumba Tumba (Patiala House) – Shankar Ehsaan Loy|Hans Raj Hans|Anvita Dutt Guptan

12 Saigal Blues (Delhi Belly) – Ram Sampath|Chetan Shashital|Chetan Shashital, Ram Sampath

13 Baatein Shuru (Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge) – Raghu Dixit|Joi Barua, Shefali Alvarez|Anvita Dutt Guptan

14 Tu (My Friend Pinto) – Hitesh Sonik|Sunidhi Chauhan|Amitabh Bhattacharya

15 Nanhi Si Jaan (Stanley Ka Dabba) – Hitesh Sonik|Shankar Mahadevan|Amol Gupte

16 Isq Risk (Mere Brother Ki Dulhan) – Sohail Sen|Rahat Fateh Ali Khan|Irshad Kamil

17 Jiyein Kyun (Dum Maaro Dum) – Pritam|Papon|Jaideep Sahni

18 Nasha (Shaitan) – Prashant Pillai|Prashant Pillai, Bindu Nambiar|Sanjeev Sharma

19 Saaware/Teri Justajoo (Shor In The City) – Harpreet Singh|Roop Kumar Rathod|Sameer, Priya Panchal

20 Soundtrack Theme (Soundtrack) – Midival Punditz and Karsh Kale|Instrumental

21 Khaabon Ke Parindey (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara) – Shankar Ehsaan Loy|Alyssa Mendonsa, Mohit Chauhan|Javed Akhtar

22 Bhojhal Se (I AM) – Rajiv Bhalla|KK|Amitabh Varma

23 Awaaz (F.A.L.T.U.) – Sachin Jigar|Jigar Saraiya|Sameer

24 Chhayee Hai Tanhayee (Love Breakups Zindagi) – Salim Sulaiman|Shafqat Amanat Ali, Salim Merchant, Shruti Pathak|Javed Akhtar

25 Darling (7 Khoon Maaf) – Vishal Bhardwaj|Usha Uthup, Rekha Bhardwaj|Gulzar

And another five that just missed making it to the top 25.

26 Katiya Karun (Rockstar) – A R Rahman|Harshdeep Kaur|Irshad Kamil

27 Tere Siva (Delhi Belly) -  Ram Sampath|Ram Sampath, Tarannum Malik|Amitabh Bhattacharya

28 Dildara (RA.One) – Vishal Shekhar, Ben E King|Shafqat Amanat Ali|Kumaar, Ben E King

29 Haal-e-Dil (Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap) – Vishal Shekhar|Amitabh Bachchan|Swanand Kirkire, Anvita Dutt Guptan

30 Poore Se Zara (Mausam) – Pritam|Rashid Khan|Irshad Kamil

Finally a list of my fav film songs outside of Bollywood. Like last year, almost entirely composed of songs from the South. And since I happened to listen to a lot of Malayalam songs this year and a lot of them happened to be good, I have raised the number to 30, to have a fair representation from other languages too. And this is from the songs I managed to hear this year, so please excuse any major miss.

1 Santhikkaatha (180 – Tamil) – Sharreth|Unni Menon, Chithra, S Sowmya

2 Chembaavu (Salt N Pepper – Malayalam) – Bijibal|Pushpavathi

3 Theeye Theeye (Chaappa Kurishu – Malayalam) – Rex Vijayan|Saju Sreenivas, Sayanora Philip

4 Sara Sara (Vaagai Sooda Vaa – Tamil) – M Ghibran|Chinmayi

5 Bahu Manaratha (Memories In March – Bengali) – Debojyoti Mishra|Subhamita Bannerjee

6 Male Bandaga (Aidondla Aidu – Kannada) – Ouseppachan|Sithara

7 Nee Akaleyaano (City of God – Malayalam) – Prashant Pillai|V Sreekumar, Sayanora Philip, Preeti Pillai

8 Thekko Thekkorikkal (Vellaripraavinte Changaathi – Malayalam) – Mohan Sithara|Poornashree

9 Paattil Ee Paattil (Pranayam – Malayalam) – M Jayachandran|Shreya Ghoshal

10 Naatu Vazhiyile (Rathi Nirvedham – Malayalam) – M Jayachandran|Nikhil Raj

11 Pirai Thedum (Mayakkam Enna – Tamil) – G V Prakash Kumar|Saindhavi, G V Prakash Kumar

12 Chandra Choodha (Karmayogi – Malayalam) -  Navaneeth Sundar, Purandaradasa|Anoop Shankar

13 Nee Korinaal (180 – Tamil) – Sharreth|Karthik, Swetha Mohan

14 Chinni Chinni (Urumi – Malayalam) – Deepak Dev|Manjari

15 Aavani Thumbi (Snehaveedu – Malayalam) – Ilayaraja|Shreya Ghoshal

16 Chirakengu (The Train – Malayalam) – Srinivas|Alka Ajith

17 Kuthikkira Kuthikkira (Azhagarsaamiyin Kuthirai – Tamil) – Ilayaraja|Ilayaraja

18 Pranaya Nila (Tejabhai & Family – Malayalam) – Deepak Dev|Shaan Rahman

19 Ennamo Edho (Ko – Tamil) – Harris Jayaraj|Alaap Raju, Prashanthini, Sricharan, Emcee Jesz

20 Anjana Anjana (Vandhan Vendraan – Tamil) – Thaman|Alaap Raju

21 Mazhaneer Thullikal (Beautiful – Malayalam) – Ratheesh Vega|Unni Menon

22 Oore Oore (Aravan – Tamil) – Karthik|Krishnaraj, Mukesh, Periya Karuppu Thevar, Rita, Priya

23 Aah Ko Chaahiye (Makaramanju – Malayalam) – Ramesh Narayan|Hariharan, Sujatha

24 Senga Soola Kara (Vaagai Sooda Vaa – Tamil) – M Ghibran|Anitha

25 Aaraanney (Urumi – Malayalam) – Deepak Dev|Job Kurian, Rita

26 Makka Madeenathil (Adaminte Makan Abu – Malayalam) – Ramesh Narayan|Shankar Mahadevan, Ramesh Narayan

27 Ee Puzhayum (Indian Rupee – Malayalam) – Shahabaz Aman|Vijay Yesudas

28 Payasa (Aidondla Aidu – Kannada) – Abhijit Shylanath, Jyothis Balakrishna|Nithya Menen

29 Aaru Tharum (Makeup Man – Malayalam) – Vidyasagar|Madhu Balakrishnan

30 Vaanam (Vaanam – Tamil) – Yuvan Shankar Raja|Yuvan Shankar Raja

My sincerest apologies for not being able to sort out the best from the non-film category due to time crunch. But search youtube for Dewarists, MTV Unplugged, Shankar Tucker, Rewind – Nine Lost Memories by Band Called Nine, and Ganaraj Adhiraj. There are some excellent songs to be heard!

Well that’s that. To 2012 then! Happy New Year, all!

Another year goes by. After having given us a lot of good music. Ya I know, I said the same about last year and the year before. But in 2011 the number of good songs was definitely more than in the previous years, I had such a painful time cutting the list down to the top 25! So below is a composer-wise analysis of a few prominent composers of the year in decreasing order of my rating of their performance. The top 25 songs of the year shall follow.

ARR

So Rockstar didn’t have much rock in it. True. But to those who saw the movie it would by now be clear why it didn’t have as much rock as it name might have signified to many people. And even if the movie was a letdown for many, one cannot dispute the fact that most of what Rahman created in the soundtrack was spot on with regard to the different situations (with the exception of Naadaan Parindey for me, I would have preferred something more passionate and climactic, something like an Aaromale). So with a lone soundtrack which made up for a whole year’s absence both in terms of numbers and quality, ARR deserves to lead the pack this year.

Krsna

In my interview with Krsna he had told me that he used this pseudonym coz he wanted his music to do the talking. And it was quite a talking his music did in Tanu Weds Manu, one
of the best debuts in recent times. Just one soundtrack even he had for the year, but that one is enough to propel him to the top of the list. Here is hoping to hear much more of him in 2012 and ahead.

Sachin Jigar

The duo has been consistent from the time they started, just unfortunate to get the projects they did. This year they outdid their previous works with some spectacular works specifically in Shor In The City and F.A.L.T.U. Even Hum Tum Shabana had a couple of good songs. Again not the best of movies to have worked for, I just hope things get better in the coming year. These guys really deserve it.

Vishal Shekhar

Contrary to their past track record Vishal Shekhar had quite a mixed year this time. While they gave some excellent tracks in Ra One (no, not Chhammak Chhallo. I hated it the first time, I still do) and some decent songs in Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap and The Dirty Picture, they also produced one horrendous score for the abomination called Rascals. I am not shocked that the movie had such music, it didn’t deserve any better. The shock is only that V-S did that project. Hope they don’t do such mistakes in 2012.

Hitesh Sonik

After a long stint as music producer/arranger, 2011 was the year Hitesh Sonik finally got to don the composer role, making the most of that debut with a fab score in Stanley Ka Dabba. Apart from that he played guest composer roles in a couple of movies where too he created some nice music, especially in My Friend Pinto where his Tu outshone Ajay Atul’s lead score. Hope he carries his good form into the new year.

Shankar Ehsaan Loy

The trio had a better year than last time, giving some good music in Patiala House, Game, Aarakshan and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, the topper of the lot. Not entire soundtracks of course, but each had its share of decent songs. Don 2 however, was quite a disappointment, given the hype that surrounded it, and that it was Farhan Akhtar. Nevertheless, the composers have quite a few lined up for 2012, so looking forward.

Pritam

It was things as usual for the man, though not with as many soundtracks. His music in Mausam, Dil To Bachcha Hai Ji and Dum Maaro Dum sort of made up for the remaining tripe he did in the year.

The rest

Apart from Krsna and Hitesh there were also a couple of other sparkling debuts, the most prominent among them being Raghu Dixit with a super fun Mujhse Fraandship Karoge and Gulraj Singh doing an entry late into the year with Tutiya Dil but since it is releasing only next year the songs shall not feature in my top 25 list. Nevertheless, watch out for the soundtrack, it is one hell of a score! There were other one soundtrack wonders too – Vishal Bhardwaj (7 Khoon Maaf), Ram Sampath (Delhi Belly), Midival Punditz & Karsh Kale (Soundtrack), Sohail Sen (Mere Brother Ki Dulhan) et al.

The year was not without its share of disappointments. One of the major letdowns was Amit Trivedi who had had such a brilliant streak in 2010. Since No One Killed Jessica released in 2011 the songs would feature on my list, but his compositions that actually happened in 2011, Chillar Party and I AM¸ weren’t upto the high standards he has set for himself. Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu that released towards the end of the year was marginally better, but there too the Amit Trivedi factor was largely missing. The usually reliable Salim Sulaiman too weren’t in the best of form this year, with one of their better works happening in the flop movie Love Breakups Zindagi. Himesh Reshammiya’s year too was at best patchy, his obsession with singing his songs spoiling it for me in Damadamm. Bodyguard was better in fact, and Teri Meri would have been part of my top 25 if not for the plagiarism. Ajay Atul were another set of composers I had high hopes on, but their initial two works – Singham and My Friend Pinto, didn’t impress much. They did make up for all that with a stellar soundtrack in Agneepath, but that hasn’t been considered for my list due to the 2012 release. In any case, going by Agneepath I have renewed hopes in the composer brothers!

..and the roundup for 2011 is done. Keeping with the tradition begun last year, I shall be having the top 25 of 2011 list as a separate post. Which shall be up in a few minutes.

The clandestine guitar sounds provide the ideal base for an interestingly arranged opener Satrangiya Dil that the composer Gulraj Singh himself delivers, quite commendably. I totally loved the Nimminnina refrain! Song no. 2 is Kutiya Dil. And the lead vocalist, probably a choice prompted by his Delhi Belly repute, is Ram Sampath, with Prakriti Kakar playing chorus. As expected, attitude-loaded lyrics from Manoj Yadav, with an arrangement that sees multiple genres infused quite impressively into a rock-ish template (Shon Pinto at the helm, on lead guitar). But the mind automatically started doing a comparison with Delhi Belly, and on that count, it doesn’t quite pack the same level of punch. The composer doles out a nice breezy melody next, Le Chalo sung by Meenal Jain and a very Tochi Raina-esque Jaswinder Singh. Smart, controlled orchestration (is there a faint touch of Celt music?) and a neat rendition by two singers with evidently sound classical base.

In Aalakh Niranjan the composer gives a spunky Middle Eastern sound to a sinister folk tune (Sindhubhairavi raag, I think). Divya Kumar does a fabulous job of singing the song, with Akriti Kakar playing a minimal support role in the title hook portions. Gulraj follows it up with another experimental track Saiyaan, whose employment of percussion makes it particularly engaging. There are places where one gets reminded of Johnny Breakbeat Mera Naam he did in Johnny Gaddar. The composer dons the vocalist hat in this one too, ably accompanied by Akriti Kakar and Sayantani Das. It is only in the final track, Aag Lage, where the composer digresses from the high standards he maintains throughout the soundtrack, having created a run-of-the-mill techno-Punjabi piece. Good singing by Aalam Gir Khan though, with quirky lyrics from Manoj.

Seeing the title and the trailer of the movie I had a fear I would be treated to a stereotypical soundtrack. Instead Gulraj Singh makes an imaginative and very promising Bollywood debut (this is his first full soundtrack) in Tutiya Dil. Not very surprising actually, if one were to go by the reviews his devotional album Ganaraj Adhiraj got a few days back (which I am yet to hear, shall listen up immediately!). Hope the Ganaraj has in return blessed him with a movie worthy of such music!

Music Aloud Rating: 7.75/10

Top Recos: Satrangiya Dil, Aalakh Niranjan, Le Chalo

(Posted on behalf of Little Big Noise)

World-renowned percussionist, Bickram Ghosh, Assamese folk/indie singer, Papon and Scottish singer-songwriter Rachel Sermanni – three musicians from three diverse backgrounds – will come together for ‘Troikala’, in search of an exploratory musical synergy in folk music that transcends borders. Curated and organized by British Council in association with Folktronic, ‘Troikala’ will see the three musicians work together from December 2011 to May 2012 to produce an album and a concert tour in India and the UK to showcase their collaborative efforts.

“This concept allows us to explore our talent to create a unique sound. Rachel Sermanni and Papon are great artists and when the three of us get together, we plan to introduce interesting musical concepts by merging each of our unique perspectives, which will come together as one awesome sound in the end,” says Bickram Ghosh.

“We will be experimenting with each other’s folk sensibilities, and I may introduce some electronic elements and Hindustani classical instruments into the collaboration. This collaboration, owing to our similarities within folk music, will definitely lead to something interesting. You can expect something unexpected,” says Papon.

Troikala concert in India

Time: 6.30 pm

Entry: Rs. 150

Bickram Ghosh is dubbed as a new-age percussion star, ranked amongst the great tabla players of India. Son of the great tabla maestro Pandit Shankar Ghosh, Bickram has also learnt the nuances of Carnatic percussion and he has carved a niche for himself in his diverse avatars as classical musician and avant garde artiste and composer. He has over 70 recordings as soloist, composer and collaborator, and has played on a number of Grammy nominated albums as well.

Papon is an Assamese singer, composer, programmer and producer. Born to popular local musicians Archana Mahanta and Khagen Mahanta, he was introduced to music early on in his childhood and his initial training was in Indian classical, devotional and folk music from Assam. His current music covers genres like ambient electronic, acoustic folk and new-age Indian classical music and includes influences of pentatonic Mongoloid notes, local river song influences, Indian classical music and ghazals and new-age electronica.

Rachel Sermanni is a 19-year-old Scottish singer-songwriter from a small village in the Highlands, called Carrbridge. Her work conjures a kaleidoscopic reverie of sights and sounds, from smoky, old-school jazz clubs to Glaswegian indie-pop and pastoral folk-tinged choirs and natural affinity with any audience belies her young age. Rachel is currently putting the glue work to her debut EP which will be out January next year.

About British Council

British Council supports the music industry in India through Soundpad. Over the last four years British Council has been working successfully with the music sector, using a range of approaches to link theUKs music industry to the rapidly growing independent Indian music scene. As a result there have been a wide range of British acts visiting India and vice versa, interesting collaborations and albums such as John Leckie’s project with Swarathma, Advaita, Indigo Children and Advaita and even industry conferences like Un-Convention.

http://soundpad.britishcouncil.org.in/

About Folktronic

A sub brand of DAY 1, Sony Music’s Independent music initiative, Folktronic is a platform that brings to the fore front the culture of Indian folk music to the youth/world in a contemporary format. Derived from the genre Folktronica, the venture aspires to develop artists & repertoire with collaboration opportunities between folk and new-age artists. From LIVE, A&R management to digital, Folktronic takes a 360 degree approach to represent Indian music on a global stage.

You can listen to the soundtrack here.

Title song is quintessential youth, with its cool urbane sound. And the composer gets two of the most reliable voices in this genre – Benny Dayal, Anushka Manchanda to do a flawless rendition of it. I would have preferred the voices unprocessed though. The remix doesn’t do much to the original except replace some of the layers with an electronic loop, but that works for the kind of song it is. Gubbare comes off as a more pepped-up version of Sham from Aisha. Such is the charm of the tune that it works despite the déjà vu, thanks much to the ultra feel-good arrangement, highlighted by the use of harmonies. And a good set of vocalists comprising of the composer Amit Trivedi, Nikhil D’Souza, Shilpa Rao and lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya.

Ash King sounds very different rendering the super energetic Aunty Ji set to the perennially winsome rock-and-roll base. The bluegrass-y use of the mandolin/banjo/ukulele (I am not sure which) is especially kickass! Aahatein sounds like how the soundtrack of Udaan might have sounded had Udaan been a KJo movie! The vocals by Karthik and Shilpa Rao do prop the song up quite well though, as does the ubiquitous piano. The composer replaces Karthik with Shekhar Ravjiani for the Robert Miles-esque remix. The final song of the soundtrack, Kar Chalna Shuru, is the freshest-sounding, with some fantabulous use of instruments and chorus, and superb singing by Vishal Dadlani and Shilpa Rao. And the composer tops it off with a scale change towards the end, something he has employed in the past too with excellent results.

Entertaining score that is marred only by the lack of much newness in tunes. A soundtrack that therefore ranks on the higher side of the KJo repertoire, but on the lower side of Amit Trivedi’s works.

Music Aloud Rating: 7/10

Top Recos: Kar Chalna Shuru, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, Gubbare

En Frienda Pola seems like a friendship extolment song + hero song rolled into one, but its rock-based anthemic sound works quite well, with Krish and Suchith Suresan doing a neat rendition. Harris Jayaraj does an impressive job of adapting the Aal Izz Well motif into Tamil, in Heartiley Battery. There is an obvious nod to Moitra’s AIW, but there is also originality in the arrangement. Hemachandran and Mukesh do the honors on vocals, quite impressively. The orchestration and the Kaapi raga base (at least partly) of Askku Laska make it sound more Vidyasagar than Harris Jayaraj! Lovely listen though, despite some seemingly random lyrics, thanks a great deal to Vijay Prakash and Chinmayi. Suvi does a rap-based cameo in the interlude.

Aalap Raju’s Endhan Kan Munney is where the composer’s reusal habits start surfacing, but the acoustic guitar factor helps mitigate that element. Irukkaanna quite blatantly borrows from HJ’s own Manjal Veyil (Vettaiyaadu Vilayaadu), and an annoying arrangement for the remaining part (there is gargling sound and all!) doesn’t help matters at all. Vijay Prakash, Javed Ali and Sunidhi Chauhan wasted. The soundtrack ends on a high note though with Nalla Nanban (presumably the analogue for Jaane Nahin Denge), a song where the composer beautifully incorporates semiclassical elements in an otherwise western-tinged orchestration. Ramakrishna Murthy’s singing isn’t perfect, but there is an allure in his rendition, which goes very nicely with this song.

Second time that director Shankar chooses Harris Jayaraj instead of his usual man A R Rahman to score for him. And the second time too HJ pulls off a commendable job.

Music Aloud Rating: 7.5/10

Top Recos: Nalla Nanban, Askku Laska, En Frienda Pola

You can listen to the songs here.

Vellaripraavinte Changaathi is apparently a story that was filmised in the 70s, but couldn’t be completed, and is being made again by the then director’s son in the same settings. How true the director has made the movie to the age shall have to be seen, but the soundtrack presented by Mohan Sithara leaves one in no doubt of that fact. The three-song soundtrack is totally yesteryear in its feel. Pathinezhinte Poonkarayil has Shreya Ghoshal and Kabeer crooning a soulful romantic melody (and Shreya alone in an alternate version), while the Oppana piece Naanam Chaalicha is rendered by Manjari and Priya Aji. And the kiddie song Thekko Thekkorikkal has Poornashree (who sang the composer’s Annaarakkanna in Bhramaram) in the lead. So yes, the soundtrack is a wonderful trip to the 60s from the composer. The flip side? Every song reminds strongly of some old song or the other from a similar genre. Of course, one might argue that songs from that era are rarely made without drawing inspiration from some track. But the same Mohan Sithara also made Annaarakkanna which, while sounding retro, was very original stuff. Here though, there is very little Mohan Sithara that you can detect anywhere, it is mostly either Baburaj or Raghavan Master or some other veteran.

Nitpickings aside though, it is always a pleasure to listen to retro-based songs. And for that reason, Vellaripraavinte Changaathi is a must-listen.

Music Aloud Rating: 7/10

Top Recos: All three are recommended, but my fav is Thekko Thekkorikkal which reminded me of this classic children’s song.

You can listen to the soundtrack here.

Chikni Chameli was out earlier this week, even a preview of its video is out on TV. And after multiple listens, the song is still as much of an energy booster to me as it was the first time, courtesy big time to Shreya Ghoshal. With Ajay Atul’s addictive heavy-on-percussion Marathi arrangement (a rehash of their own Kombadi Palali from the Marathi film Jatra) and Amitabh Bhattacharya’s cheeky lyrics alongside the vocals, Chikni Chameli is a perfect item number, at least music-wise. In O Saiya the composers take a U-turn, providing a template that is ambient and for a large part minimal. And where they take exception from the minimalism the effect is mindblowing, be it the use of the santoor or the choral elements or the percussion. The crescendo-esque turn that the strings section takes at the fag end is the icing on the cake. Roop Kumar Rathod never fails when it comes to classical-based renditions, this song is no exception. And Ajay Atul go back to the high percussion base in Gunguna. Not on the same level as the previous two songs, but entertaining nevertheless. Sunidhi does most of the singing, with a short but nice cameo by Udit towards the end. Sad that the man is heard so less in Hindi these days.
And with that the composers try their hand at Sufi, and pull off a winner in Shah Ki Rutba too. Starting on a typical Muslim song beat template (wherein it is reminiscent slightly of ARR’s Al Maddath Maula) the song shifts tempo halfway through, driving you to a climactic trance mode. Brilliant job by Sukhwinder Singh, Anand Raaj Anand and Krishna Beura. A contrasting switch happens again with the next song, Sonu Nigam nicely delivering a sweet soulful Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin. Lovely use of instruments again, which mitigates the overall déjà vu feel of the song. And Ajay Atul end the soundtrack with a genre which made me their fan in the first place, devotional. Deva Shree Ganesha sees the composers once again put their acumen with percussion to good use. Though not as impactful for me as their Shree Ganeshaaya Dheemahi, the effect is still quite awe-inspiring, complete with another superb latter half tempo-change where the lyrics take a surprise diversion from Ganesh-stuti to extolling Krishna, Rama et al (The piece Achutham Keshavam has interestingly featured in their devotional album Vishwatma as well, albeit in a different tune). Heady, to sum up. One half of the duo, Ajay Gogawale, does the honors on the vocals, his voice taking on a Sukhwinder-esque edge in places.
After a couple of false starts earlier this year, Ajay Atul have truly arrived in Bollywood with Agneepath!

Music Aloud Rating: 8.5/10
Top Recos: Hard to handpick. I loved all of them!

You can listen to preview of the songs here.

Director Lal Jose and composer Vidyasagar better have had a good enough reason for disfiguring Omana Thinkal Kidavo the way they did in Spanish Masala. Nikitha’s attempted foreign accent in rendition comes off as totally fake.  And annoying. The composer goes Latino for the rest of the soundtrack, staying true to the title of the movie. Aarezhuthi Aavo starts off spectacularly, lovely guitar phrases, beautiful singing by Karthik and Shreya Ghoshal. And then Vidyasagar spoils it with a starkly obvious borrowing of the lead hook of Enrique Iglesias’ Bailamos. The rest of the song sounds quite nice, especially the second interlude, wonder why the composer had to do this pointless lift. If you ignore the lyrics and the vocoding, Hayyo is a good listen, especially due to the fusion elements in the orchestration. Yazin Nazir and Franco do the honors behind the mic.

The allure of Spanish orchestration combined with Karthik’s vocal talents work in favour of Irulil Oru Kaithiri, though not as much as the previous two. Udit Narayan’s alternate version only serves to make Karthik’s Malayalam seem more perfect than it actually is, in comparison (Such a contrast with how Shreya handles Malayalam!). The fusion factor works for Akkarey as well, more so in this case due to the exotic choice of instruments. The combination of Vineeth Srinivasan and Sujatha has worked for me in the past too, ditto here.

A soundtrack works more due to the Spanish factor than the Vidyasagar factor. Even so it is not among Lal Jose-Vidyasagar’s best.

Music Aloud Rating – 6/10

Top Recos – Akkarey, Aarezhuthi Aavo, Hayyo

You can listen to previews of the songs here.

Lead composer Gopi Sundar does three songs for Casanovva. The theme song could be alternately titled as “Mohanlal’s tutorial on how to propose in x different languages”. Musically it has very little to offer, the background being a middling mishmash. And listening to the lines of this song I am getting a major sense of foreboding about the movie (not that the title itself had helped in the first place). The hip hop-based Hey Manohara is quite evocative of the rap songs he did for Sagar Alias Jackie and Anwar, but is passable. Blaaze at the helm of affairs assisted by a redundantly huge number of singers – Balu Thankachan, Shalini, Priya Himesh, Feji and the composer himself. His last song is his best, with a very hummable lilt, albeit following the tried-and-tested youth romance formula. Omanichumma, as the song is titled, again has a long lineup including Karthik, Najeem Arshad, Vineeth Srinivasan, Kalyani and Roopa.

Alphonse, in his only composition Kanna Neeyo, presents something that sounds like an Arabicized version of his Parayaathaaro from Cocktail, interestingly featuring the same singer Sayanora Philip. While the Cocktail song itself wasn’t very great, this is further down the ladder. And in the end comes guest composer Gowri Lakshmi with Sakhiye. Riding on a lovely semiclassical tune and backed by a haunting keyboard loop and flowing string segments, the song is a total winner. And this coming from a 12^th standard girl! The arrangement might have been done by Gopi Sundar, as per this article on Gowri, which could also explain a cameo by the Omanichumma riff in the first interlude. If he did, good job, total justice done to the tune. And fantastic singing by Vijay Yesudas and Swetha Mohan. Gopi Sundar in version 2, though not on par with Vijay, pulls it off commendably.

Casanovva – a soundtrack, though not a very memorable one, should prove an ideal launchpad for the prodigy Gowri Lakshmi.

Music Aloud Rating – 5.5/10

Top Recos – Sakhiye, Omanichumma